Original researchBrief in-play cooling breaks reduce thermal strain during football in hot conditions
Section snippets
Practical implications
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The efficacy of currently advocated brief in-play cooling breaks are supported by this laboratory-based study.
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The COOLwater and HTextended strategies appear more feasible for all levels of play than COOLtowel whilst providing similar cooling benefits.
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The HTextended strategy may be preferred by organisations that do not desire breaks during each half of play and allows further time for additional and more extensive cooling strategies during half-time.
Methods
Twelve healthy well-trained football players were recruited, provided written informed consent to participate, and completed the study. The mean age, height, body mass, and maximal oxygen consumption was 24 ± 7 y, 179 ± 5 cm, 75 ± 6 kg, and 58 ± 3 mL/kg/min, respectively. Additionally, five other participants withdrew from the research due to illness and injuries sustained during football participation external to the study. The study had institutional ethics approval.
Participants completed one
Results
Resting USG was similar among the REG (1.011 [1.007–1.015]), COOLwater (1.013 [1.007–1.019]), COOLtowel (1.014 [1.008–1.019), and HTextended (1.009 [1.004–1.013]) trials (p = 0.308). The mean trial environmental conditions were 35.7 (35.6–35.8) °C ambient temperature, 52.5 (52–53.1)% relative humidity, and 30.1 (30.1–30.2) °C WBGT.
The mean difference in Trec change between rest and the 30-min mark for each trial was similar (p = 0.377; Fig. 2). There was a main effect of session between the 30
Discussion
In support of our hypothesis, the COOLwater, COOLtowel, and HTextended trials attenuated thermal (Trec) strain in comparison to a REG trial. Neither intervention resulted in a significantly greater cooling effect upon core body temperature than the others. The brief cooling interventions also reduced markers of exercise intensity (HR and sRPE) but did not significantly influence mean skin temperature or thermal sensation.
This is the first study to examine the effect of advocated brief in-play
Conclusion
The current laboratory-based controlled study supports the use of brief in-play cooling periods, as currently advocated by FIFA and other football organisations, as a means to attenuate the rise in core body temperature during matches in hot and humid conditions. The implementation of the cooling interventions are considered feasible in a low-cost community setting, especially the COOLwater and HTextended strategies.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by funding provided by Western Sydney University (Australia). The authors would like to thank the participants that volunteered for the study.
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